Featured Research

from universities, journals, and other organizations

Fish exposed to antidepressants exhibit altered behavioral changes

Date:

April 16, 2014

Source:

Elsevier

Summary:

Fish exposed to the antidepressant Fluoxetine, an active ingredient in prescription drugs such as Prozac, exhibited a range of altered mating behaviours, repetitive behaviour and aggression towards female fish, according to new research. "With increased aggression, in the highest level of concentration, female survivorship was only 33% compared to the other exposures that had a survivorship of 77-87.5%. The females that died had visible bruising and tissue damage," according to the lead author.

Share This

The authors of the study set up a series of experiments exposing a freshwater fish (Fathead Minnow) to a range of Prozac concentrations. Following exposure for 4 weeks the authors observed and recorded a range of behavioural changes among male and female fish relating to reproduction, mating, general activity and aggression.

Fish exposed to the antidepressant Fluoxetine, an active ingredient in prescription drugs such as Prozac, exhibited a range of altered mating behaviours, repetitive behaviour and aggression towards female fish, according to new research published on in the latest special issue of Aquatic Toxicology: Antidepressants in the Aquatic Environment.

Related Articles

The authors of the study set up a series of experiments exposing a freshwater fish (Fathead Minnow) to a range of Prozac concentrations. Following exposure for 4 weeks the authors observed and recorded a range of behavioural changes among male and female fish relating to reproduction, mating, general activity and aggression. On a positive note, author Rebecca Klaper, Director of the Great Lakes Genomics Center at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, emphasizes that the impact on behaviour is reversible once the concentration level is reduced.

"With increased aggression, in the highest level of concentration, female survivorship was only 33% compared to the other exposures that had a survivorship of 77-87.5%. The females that died had visible bruising and tissue damage," according to Rebecca Klaper.

There is an increasing proportion of antidepressants prescriptions, and like most prescription drugs, they end up, not fully broken down, back into our aquatic ecosystems, inducing their therapeutic effects on wildlife. Although concentrations observed in our rivers and estuaries are very small, an increasing number of studies have shown that these incredibly small concentrations can dramatically alter the biology of the organisms they come in contact with.

The impact of pharmaceuticals is currently not only of interest amongst scientists but also amongst environmental regulators, industry and general public. Some US states are looking to charge pharmaceutical companies with the cost of appropriate drug disposal, some of which is currently being challenged in the courts.

"This is just one of an increasing number of studies that suggest that pharmaceuticals in the environment can impact the complex range of behaviours in aquatic organisms," said Alex Ford, Guest Editor of the special issue of Aquatic Toxicology in which the study was published. "Worryingly, an increasing number of these studies are demonstrating that these effects can be seen at concentrations currently found in our rivers and estuaries and they appear to impact a broad range of biological functions and a wide variety of aquatic organisms."

This is one of the reasons why Alex proposed a full special dedicated to this topic. Antidepressants in the Aquatic Environment, includes among other studies, research that demonstrates that antidepressants affect the ability of cuttlefish to change colour and a fish study whereby reproductive effects were observed in offspring whose parents who were exposed to mood stabilizing drugs.

Ford emphasizes that although the results from this study and others published in the issue show troubling results for aquatic species, this doesn't indicate that these results are applicable to humans.

"This special issue focuses on the biology of aquatic systems and organisms and results only indicate how pharmaceuticals could potentially have effects on this particular environment."

Story Source:

The above story is based on materials provided by Elsevier. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

Mar. 31, 2015 — Using the assessment tool ForWarn, US Forest Service researchers can monitor the growth and development of vegetation that signals winter's end and the awakening of a new growing season. Now these ... full story

Mar. 31, 2015 — Until now electric fences and trenches have proved to be the most effective way of protecting farms and villages from night time raids by hungry elephants. But researchers think they may have come up ... full story

Mar. 31, 2015 — Researchers have detected a human fingerprint deep in the Borneo rainforest in Southeast Asia. Cold winds blowing from the north carry industrial pollutants from East Asia to the equator, with ... full story

Mar. 31, 2015 — A team of engineers and biologists reports new progress in using computer modeling and 3D shape analysis to understand how the unique grasping tails of seahorses evolved. These prehensile tails ... full story

Mar. 31, 2015 — As the five-year anniversary of the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig approaches, a new report looks at how twenty species of wildlife are faring in the aftermath of the ... full story

Mar. 31, 2015 — Scientists have uncovered the earliest fossilized evidence of an insect caring for its young. The findings push back the earliest direct evidence of insect brood care by more than 50 million years, ... full story

Mar. 31, 2015 — New research has scientists re-thinking how a lethal fungus grows and kills immune cells. The study hints at a new approach to therapy for Candida albicans, one of the most common causes of ... full story

Mar. 31, 2015 — The most virulent strains of Streptococcus suis, the leading cause of bacterial meningitis in adult humans in parts of southeast Asia and in pigs around the world, are likely to have evolved and ... full story

Mar. 31, 2015 — Darwin's evolutionary theory predicts survival of the fittest. So why do different survival tactics co-exist, if evolution should always favor the winning strategy? To answer that question scientists ... full story

Bionic Ants Could Be Tomorrow's Factory Workers

Reuters - Innovations Video Online (Mar. 30, 2015) — Industrious 3D printed bionic ants working together could toil in the factories of the future, says German technology company Festo. The robotic insects cooperate and coordinate their actions and movements to achieve a common aim. Amy Pollock reports.
Video provided by Reuters

Lions Make Surprise Comeback in Gabon

AFP (Mar. 30, 2015) — Lions have made a comeback in southeast Gabon, after disappearing for years, according to live footage from US wildlife organisation Panthera. Duration: 00:32
Video provided by AFP

Related Stories

Nov. 13, 2014 — In a long-term study of interactions between chimpanzees in the famous Gombe National Park in Tanzania, researchers have found that males who consistently bully females tend to father more babies ... full story

Apr. 26, 2013 — When predicting the outcome of a fight, the big guy doesn't always win suggests new research on fish. Scientists have found that when fish fight over food, it is personality, rather than size, ... full story

Sep. 20, 2010 — Caring for children can be a tough job, particularly if you are a female cichlid fish, with research showing that male cichlid fish have a propensity to desert their mates, leaving them to then look ... full story

ScienceDaily features breaking news and videos about the latest discoveries in health, technology, the environment, and more -- from major news services and leading universities, scientific journals, and research organizations.